As Damian and Catherine exited the building the world zoomed out around them. Their bodies went on autopilot and the host began a narration. It would have been satisfying if not delivered in monotone.
Having caught the necromancer our intrepid duo and their avian companion returned to Father Sullivan to deliver the good news. The good priest insisted upon seeing the evidence for himself and reached out to the leaders of the various communities in the Five Points. Reading the documents that clearly laid out the nefarious Hans Kistenmacher’s actions and further plans, the leaders of the Five Points heaved a relieved sigh. They insisted on throwing our heroes a feast in celebration. All over the Five Points people were celebrating, parties that lasted an entire week were thrown. Our MHL investigators left to much fanfare and well wishes. They entered a district mired in fear and suspicion, and left it in high spirits and full of hope. What adventures await our fearless contestants? Stay tuned!
The scene ended on an image of himself and Catherine riding off into the sunset with bronze soaring above them, like the end of a western. The world faded to black and was replaced by system prompts.
“THE FUCK YOU SAY?!!?” Damian screamed at the screen while Catherine couldn’t hold back her laugh.
“I told you that the biscuit trick would bite you in the arse.”
Nine thousand essence each! Now the question was, spend it now or hold it for the market in a month’s time? The question would have to wait as the real world started to fade into existence. He summoned his crossbow Nocturne Buck and prepared to fire. Catherine brought out her axe Spite and took up the front-line position. The area was home to a herd of minotaur when they entered the portal and it wouldn’t be out of the question for them to still be there. The scene that greeted them however gave them pause. What was once recognizable as the remains of a park after becoming a warzone, was now a crater.
If that wasn’t weird enough standing at the edge of the crater was a contingent of soldiers. It seemed as if after the two had entered the portal the military bombed the area to hell and back, then set up a dedicated guard squadron. A cheer rose from the assembled soldiers as the purple portal began to dissipate. Catherine and Damian were ushered out of the crater and had beers shoved into their hands and slaps applied to their backs. They were escorted back to the New York base proper and were met with Commander Hernandez and Mayor Thomas.
Bronze charged towards Thomas and demanded scritches and treats, much to the man’s amusement. While the mayor was occupied with five feet of bird, Commander Hernandez started their debrief.
“Welcome back you two, we were getting worried when you didn’t exit after that first week. A lot has changed in the two and a half weeks you were gone let’s head to the government building and we can fill you in.”
The duo was guided through the New York base city, and it had changed drastically. People moved past with unrestrained smiles and a purpose that was diminished before. They saw many volunteers piling into military trucks that would head back over the bridge into Manhattan.
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Damian was the first to voice the question. “What happened while we were away?”
Thomas spoke up with a smile clear in his voice. “All seventy-six Inducted were split into teams of three, with two teams of two, and were turned loose on the portals. As of now we have twenty-two portals cleared, with four teams left in play. All of Australia and half of the North and South American continents have been cleared, and if the other teams succeed their will only be one portal left in South America. It’s located in the center of the Amazon so reaching it has been difficult.”
Hernandez took over from there, “With three safe continents Europe, Asia, and Africa are being evacuated as we speak. With the closed portals we don’t have to worry about monster waves. Without portals spewing out monsters with regularity the military can make routine patrols to keep their population down and reclaim lost cities and territory. All the volunteers you’ve seen, are heading into Manhattan to clear up residences for refugees to settle in. Coordination has been made so much easier thanks to that device the Australian team recovered.”
He pointed to a gleaming brass tower that had previously been hidden behind a skyscraper. It was covered in whirling gears and venting steam, and the top looked like an old-timey radar dish with solid metal sheets that orbited around it.
“That behemoth can send and receive signals from a large distance. A network of five, if placed right, can cover the entirety of three separate states! They receive radio, and the signals used for tv, so we aren’t as reliant on a satellite network we only have the barest staffing to maintain.” Hernandez continued.
Thomas took over the explanation, “One of the teams in South America gained a new blueprint in their portal. An all-in-one tablet, phone, and computer. Not very impressive considering our old tech until you take into account that this new device cost a tenth to make, lasts months on a single charge, and uses holograms. Production has already started and we hope to have one for every citizen by the time we close all the portals. We are prioritizing the military, first responders and Inducted currently, for obvious reasons.”
The tower was constructed outside the government building, so when the briefing was over Damian and Catherine could go take a closer look. The briefing was blessedly short; they gave an accounting of their time in the portal. What monsters they faced, what type of interference was used on them, that sort of thing. The debriefing lasted ten minutes before they were released and given a new toy.
They were passed one of the new phone devices, apparently called a COSMOS, or a Centralized Omni-functional Spatial Mobile Organizer System. Its appearance was rather plain, it looked like a solid black wristwatch, and while cut into a pleasing shape, there was nothing remarkable about it, until it was booted up. When activated the circular, black watch face floated off it’s housing to head height and projected a screen a foot in front of their face. The hologram felt solid to the touch and was rather intuitive to use.
“This is underwhelming for advanced hologram technology.” Catherine deadpanned.
“Maybe it has something special about it we don’t know yet? Regardless not every bit of tech we gain can be a winner. I’m just happy to be able make calls that go farther than the local city without having to make an official request to use the satellite link. Not to mention a resurgence of the internet, I need my YouTube and web novel fix.” Damian responded.
“Speaking of, come on let’s go see if your sister was alive and given one of these fancy devices. You said she was a doctor, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Catherine sensing Damian’s hesitance grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along behind her as she had staff guide her to the proper department. Without letting go of him Catherine set the office to work finding out what they could about Damian’s sister. They had to wait for half an hour before a clerk approached them with a file.
“Sorry for the wait, it took some doing but we found everything we could here and had to make a few calls to verify everything. Mr. Campbell I am happy to say that your sister, Amber Stevens, is alive and well. As an accomplished surgeon she was indeed given one of the new cosmos devices and her number is in this file.” The staffer passed the folder over to him and departed.
“Well? Open it up and see what’s in there.” Catherine encouraged him.
Damian obliged and opened the file. Inside he found a brief accounting of Amber’s time in the San Diego refugee base. By all accounts, while there were a few harrowing incidents, it was an uneventful time for her and her family. Her husband, Robert, was kept off the front lines due to an accident that rendered him wheelchair bound a year after their marriage. He was a teacher so he was able to keep an eye on their two children while Amber worked at the hospital. Damian’s niece and nephew were doing just fine, the eldest Patrick, was preparing to join the military. Damian had a part of the boy’s application. Apparently, his stated reason for wanting to join was so he could locate his, ‘favorite unlucky uncle, who no doubt was doing something stupid’. Damian let out a bark of laughter at that. His niece, Rachel, was following in her mother’s footsteps and studying medicine.
Noting the number to his sister’s cosmos watch, he stood up and started looking for an empty room he could use to make a call. Catherine stayed by his side the whole time offering silent support. They were offered a small office room when a few staffers learned what they were looking for, a few giving Damian encouraging smiles.
Damian sat down at a desk, activated the watch, and entered the number. He spent a few minutes, his heart was pounding, and his hands were slick with sweat. He knew they were fine from the file, but what ifs played in his mind. Before he could talk himself out of it, Damian hit the call button. It wrang four times before the call was picked up. The call connected and revealed his sister, distracted with paperwork, sitting in the kitchen of her home.
“Doctor Steven’s here what can I do for you? Just a reminder this is my mandated off hours, so if it isn’t an emergency please call back later.” Her voice was slightly irritated, clearly having gotten a lot of these calls.
“Did I call at a bad time? I can try again later if you want, just thought you would want to hear from your brother again Amby.” Damian smirked.
“DAMN IT DAMIAN I TOLD YOU TO NEVER……. DAMIAN!” She reflectively started her old tirade before pausing as it registered. She whipped her head up staring at him in surprise, joy, and disbelief.
“Hey sis, it’s been a while.”
“ROBERT GET THE KIDS IN HERE, DAMIAN CALLED! HE’S ALIVE!” Amber shouted off screen. Damian could hear the sound of rushing feet, and the familiar squeak of his brother-in-law’s wheel chair.
Two forms rocketed into the room followed by their father at a more sedate pace. His nephew had filled out since he last saw him. His frame was solid and he had grown to roughly five foot eleven. His hair was shaved into dirty blond buzzcut, his goofy looking face was the only thing familiar about the boy. Rachel had blossomed into a young woman. No longer, the gangly awkward teen he remembered. Her raven hair cascaded down her back in waves and she exuded an air of confidence that was endearing.
A twin shout of “Uncle Damian!” assaulted his ears and brought a bigger smile to his face.
“Hey kids! What have you been up to lately? Bet I had it weirder.”
